All's Fair In Love And War
by ShunandAce
Summary: AcexMira
1. Chapter 1

**Here's another story because I feel guilty about killing Alice in Invincible. ;~;**

**This one is a combination of MiraxAce, a little OCxAce, OCxOC and a hint of ShunxAlice. And I might throw a tad of JuliexBilly in there if I make it longer. I'm thinking only five chapters, but it depends. I'm still not sure about it in the first place so please, please review this chapter and tell me if you think I should continue it! Because I don't wanna write something suckish that everyone hates. =/**

**Sorry if this plot has been used before, I tried hard to make it original. But the first chapter is really just an intro to let ya know what's going on a little bit.**

**Alice: I don't have to die again, do I?**

**Me: No. Wait...a**_**ctually...**_**I'M KIDDING! Shun get that katana away from me! *runs**

**Dan: *sighs I don't have a pairing in this story, because ShunandAce is a big meanie. Please protest to this horrible crime. Oh, and she owns nothing but the OCs.**

**Me: One more thing. Acsio, Ace and Shun are triplets. Obviously Shun looks nothing like them, but Ace and Acsio are identical. Look at my profile (on the bottom) to see Acsio's character profile, that will explain more.  
>Sorry that this chapter is so poorly written! I changed the writing style four times! -.- Darn my picky nature. Most of this will be in noone's PoV. I feel like I really messed up this chapter and I just can't seem to fix it, so bear with me, please.<strong>

**Ages:**

**Shun, Ace, Acsio, Alice and Mira: 18**

**Dan, Julie, Billy (if I put him in), and pretty much everyone else besides the OCs: 16**

**Shun's PoV**

The Vestals - Ace, Mira, and Baron, that is, I still don't really count myself and Acsio among them - are on Earth for two weeks. We're all taking a little break from saving the Bakugan. Baron's thrilled, of course.

When we got there, through the Dimensional Transporter of course, we met up with three more humans. They were rather odd, but seemed nice enough.

Rob isn't the brightest guy around. He's pretty strong, but really reckless and hotheaded. He doesn't play Bakugan, which is probably a good thing. He has short dark hair and eyes, and his skin is tanned thoroughly. Broad-shouldered, and pretty well muscled, but like I said, he doesn't know how to use his strength very well. He has some scars on his face and chest, it makes me wonder what they're from, but I never asked, of course. He's nineteen years old.

Narcissa is Rob's girlfriend, but she's not that into PDA, so you really can't tell much. Rob is just the opposite, he keeps trying to make a move on her, but she never notices. She's really spaced-out and quiet, and a little mad. She has a taste for torture. Her hair is raven-colored and very curly. It falls down past her shoulders, and is untamed, as she never bothers to brush it. Her eyes are a very warm brown. She's twenty-one, and the oldest in our group, but also one of the shortest.

Kyle is just...Kyle. He notices /everything./ Narcissa is attempting to train him to keep his mouth shut, but he tends to just spurt out whatever he notices, and sometimes getting others in trouble. For instance, after we'd been on Earth two days, he announced to everyone that Narcissa has a crush on Ace. Ever since, Narcissa and Mira have been engaged in a silent war, casting glares from time to time, and Mira has been clinging especially tight to the poor guy. But I'm getting off track. Kyle has really bright blue eyes, short, jet black hair that's always slicked down like it's wet, very fair skin, and quite thin. He's about six feet tall, and a complete klutz. Nobody's sure how old he is, but probably around eighteen from his appearance. He claims to be five.

**No one's PoV - In the cafe**

It was a slow day in the cafe, so Runo had invited the rest of the Brawlers - and their new friends - over for coffee. Everyone had shown up but Ace and Narcissa, but they were only about ten minutes late, so no one mentioned it.

Shun was sitting on a stool at the bar, as far away from the others as possible. Dan was also at the bar, talking to Baron animatedly, while the rest lounged in the booths.

Rob was the only one who noticed the absence of the others, and he watched the door closely while sipping his latte.

Twenty minutes passed. They were just talking, enjoying themselves. Rob continued to watch the door.

Everyone looked up as it pushed open finally, and a sopping wet Ace trudged in and dropped down next to Shun on a bar stool. Narcissa followed closely, it looked as though they'd walked together. Rob could feel his face growing hot in anger. It was obvious that Narcissa was crushing on Ace, the way she looked at him. But Ace didn't seem to notice a thing. Narcissa slowly walked over to the booth Rob, Mira and Kyle were in, and slipped in next to Kyle.

"Where were you?" Rob questioned suspiciously.  
>Narcissa didn't seem to catch his tone, she was watching a certain mint-green-haired boy with a dreamy look in her eyes. "There was a lot of traffic on the way, people trying to get out of the rain. I bumped into Ace, and he helped me get here. I hope I didn't keep anyone waiting." Her tone suggested that she didn't really care.<p>

"Well-"

"Nah, we don't mind." Kyle cut Rob off. He had his arm behind her shoulders on the back of the booth, but Rob didn't care, he knew that Kyle was just a touchy person, he liked being close to people.

Rob also looked over at Ace, but with a glare. He tried to suppress his loathing for the boy, because it really wasn't his fault- wait, what? He stopped and listened more closely. He thought he'd just heard Narcissa's name mentioned, but he could be wrong.

"I don't know, Shun. I mean, everyone seems to think I have a thing for..." Ace's voice lowered a bit. "you know, the _other _girl. But I really like her. Maybe I'm moving a little too fast..." He took another sip of his black coffee. "She said she likes me, but how do I know it's like that? Girls are so confusing. And I think she's dating someone...not that it will stop me if she is. I'm not afraid of a little competition."

Shun muttered something unintelligible and they both smirked to themselves.  
>Rob pondered that for a moment. <em>The other girl...who could he mean? <em>He glanced across the table at Mira, who had overheard as well, it seemed, and looked a little hurt and disappointed. _Mira...so who was he talking about?_ Then it hit him. His eyes snapped back to his girlfriend, who was oblivious to the conversation, zoned out in her thoughts as usual.  
><em>He's dead meat.<em>

**And I stop here. Short, I know, but like I said, it's just an intro, not an actual chapter. I know it's suckish! The intro always is for me. I don't know why, I can just never do it right. I'm not even sure if I'm going to do this story. I hope it isn't as confusing as I feel. XD Anyway, please please please review and tell me if I should continue it. Constructive crit would be appreciated. o.e**


	2. Simple Mistakes

**I wrote this while listening to Ozzy Osbourne - Let Me Hear You Scream, if that gives you any idea what this chapter will be about...*innocent smile  
><strong>**AWESOME song, by the way. Prince of Darkness forever. Don't hate xD**

**Sorry for the kind of late update. I was at a friend's for the weekend. Only one person reviewed, but thanks to that person anyway :D  
><strong>**Seriously, I need opinions, people. Give me constructive crit, and I'll love you forever!  
><strong>**I think I'll have a tiny bit of ShunxAlice next chapter, maybe. I find it difficult to put more than one pairing in a story sometimes XD**

**Ace: Wait. I'm **_**dead meat?**_** I don't like this story!**

**Me: Shut up, Ace.**

**Ace: No.**

**Me: Yes.**

**Ace: No.**

**Mira: Yes.**

**Ace: Shutting.**

**Me: Sure, listen to HER. I see how it is.**

**Hmph.**

**-NEXT DAY, 2:42 PM**

Ace was leaning his back to the cool brick wall behind him, his eyes closed, and wet, mint-green hair plastered to his forehead. He'd just finished training with Shun for the first time. He'd had no idea just how hard Shun's - well, their - grandfather worked him. It had been brutal, but he had actually learned a thing or two. Now, though, he was exhausted, and _hot._ He pulled off the grey, long-sleeved muscle shirt he wore under his Darkus brawler's jacket, so he was completely shirtless, and sighed, dropping the cloth to the ground beside him, before looking around to examine his surroundings. He was somewhere near the cafe, on the sidewalk. Not paying attention, he didn't notice the blur of black and white heading for him until he turned again and she ran right into him.

"Oh! I'm so sorry. That was my f-" Narcissa stopped short, realizing that she had plowed right into _Ace_, her hands on his bare chest, and his on her waist to keep her from falling. She blushed horribly, forgetting how to move her legs. Ace's eyebrows furrowed slightly, he dropped his hands, seeing that she was stable, and looked her over, taking a moment to register her name in his mind. "Narcissa." He said gruffly, and glanced down at her hands, which she had yet to move. Realizing this as well, Narcissa dropped them immediately, but still couldn't bring herself move back an inch. Thankfully, Ace did not share this same problem, and stepped back a bit, a tight little smirk playing his lips. "Where's the fire?"

She just blushed again and shrugged, looking down, her purpose completely forgotten.

Rob growled under his breath, watching the two from across the street. All he had seen was Ace practically embracing his girlfriend, and her hands on his chest. He felt a bloodthirsty, envious feeling rise in his stomach as he noticed the deep blush on her normally pale face. She was looking at him...like she looked at Rob. But even more so. The deep admiration and - what was that, lust? He'd never seen such an expression on her. It burnt him to the core, and he wanted nothing more than to march right over to that twerp and tear him apart, but he stopped himself, seeing another familiar face round the corner.

Mira saw Ace and Narcissa, and the first thing she thought, was that she needed to stop something from happening between them. Ace's back faced her, but she could tell - by the way Narcissa looked at him - what said girl was thinking. Mira's sapphire eyes narrowed in a glare as she approached them, latching onto Ace's arm with one hand immediately. He turned and looked at her with confusion, obviously expecting her to ask something of him, but she just glared at Narcissa as though having a silent conversation. Narcissa feigned an innocent look and glanced across the street.

Only then did her eyes lock with those of her boyfriend's, and he looked _furious. _It only took her a moment to gather the reason for this, but Ace, on the other hand, seemed completely oblivious.

"Mira?" His heart raced a little when her right hand dropped down a little to entwine her fingers with his. Mira was never this...touchy, especially not to him. Deciding that he enjoyed the feeling, however alien it was, he squeezed her hand gently and looked down at her curiously. She didn't respond at first, clinging onto him posessively. After a minute or so, she looked up at him sideways. "Yes?" She asked innocently. Ace blinked, unsure. He wasn't used to the closeness, and it made him nervous. He just stared at her blankly for a moment longer. "Er...something wrong?"

"No, why do you ask?" She leaned her head on his shoulder slightly. Ace was a good deal taller, which made it easy to relax against him and close her eyes.

He stiffened at first, startled, but then a shiver went down his spine as she played with his fingers, and he looked down at her with barely concealed admiration. "...I don't know...you just seem so...different."

Mira shrugged and glanced at Narcissa, who was trying to ignore her.

Rob watched all this and decided that since Mira was _clearly _jealous, there must be something going on that he didn't know about. Without pausing to consider the possibilities any further, he stalked right up to them. Mira took one look at Rob and grudgingly released Ace's hand, straightening up. "I should go." She muttered quickly and left without pause. Ace watched, confused, and only then noticed Rob, whom he looked over with little interest. "Yes?" He asked, his tone annoyed and not one bit intimidated by the fiery glare of the dark-haired boy.

Narcissa also took the hint and quickly slipped away into the shadows, but neither seemed to notice. She stayed close enough to watch, however, because if there was going to be violence involved, she wanted to see. Yeah, she wasn't a very considerate person.

"What were you doing with _my _girl?" Rob decided to just come out and say it.

"_Yours? _I wasn't aware it was legal to _own _someone anymore, on Earth." He retorted cooly, hiding his surprise. _Girlfriend? _Did he mean _Mira?_

"You know what I mean! Stop playing dumb! I saw you and her getting all close! Don't tell me that was nothing." He growled.

"Fine, I won't." Yup, surely Rob meant Mira. It was odd that those two were dating that seriously after such a short period of time, but he supposed they could have known eachother before. Still, Mira was _his _best friend, and he was sure that she liked him more. He'd never sensed any feelings between the two, or at least not on her side. (AN: In this story Vestals can sometimes sense emotions, and are affected by them.) "Maybe it was. I've known her for a long time, longer than you, surely."

At this, something inside of Rob snapped. Ignoring the fact that Ace and Narcissa had only met a few days earlier, he ran at Ace, swinging his fists rather blindly, though the power behind them was strong enough to make up for his poor aim. His right fist made contact with Ace's stomach before the younger boy reacted, grabbing his wrist and twisting it around, then sweeping Rob's legs swiftly. Rob let out a cry of pain as he felt a small _pop _in his wrist, but it didn't feel broken, so he jumped back up and kicked Ace in the stomach, or tried to. Apparently, the earlier training had payed off. Ace skillfully grabbed his ankle and pulled, then brought his fist down onto his shin as he fell, hard. Rob yelped again, clutching his leg, and glared up at Ace, who smirked confidently at him. Somewhere during this, Narcissa had left, having recieved a call from Kyle to meet her at the park.

"Give it up. You have no chance. She doesn't even have feelings for you, and I would know."

"You're lying." Rob said quickly, though there was a hint of defeat in his tone, and he himself looked doubtful now.

"I believe you just hit the stage of denial. You know what, you just keep on trying. I don't mind the competition, if there even _is _any." And with that, he turned and walked away.

Rob watched his newfound rival disappear around the corner as he sat, holding his leg. "You win this round, Ace. But you'll get yours soon enough." He began plotting and scheming in his mind...he wasn't about to surrender.

**-10:47 PM**

Ace walked swiftly back to Dan's house, where he and the others were staying for the remainder of their time on Earth. Conveniently, it was just next door to the apartment complex that Rob, Narcissa and Kyle lived in. He already had a few ideas of what to do about Rob. But for the time being, he was focused on getting inside, and going to bed...it had been a long day. After he met up with Baron and Dan, the two had dragged him to _seven _different amusement parks. They had only just returned.

One of the mentioned boys - he couldn't tell which, it was dark, and frankly, he didn't care - ran ahead of him and through the door, only to stop in his tracks as a large quantity of water balloons full of some sticky purple liquid dumped onto him and splashed everywhere as they exploded.

Ace raised his eyebrows, looking up with renewed interest. Dan growled and wiped the liquid off of his face with a towel, handed to him by Runo, who was giggling, as he continued in, announcing loudly that he was going to _murder _whoever had done it.

Baron laughed and followed him in. Ace stayed behind, looking up at the makeshift trap set above the door. It was cheaply made, with little more than a stick, a fishing net and some rope. He recognized the net, it belonged to Kyle. But he knew that Kyle had gone to see a horror film with Narcissa earlier that night. He smirked to himself as he realized who must have set it. "You want to play games, Rob?" He muttered to noone in particular. "I'll show you how the pros do it."

He then stepped around the large puddle of unidentified sticky liquid and towards his temporary bedroom, where he proceeded to make plans for the rest of the night. He knew it was childish, but it would certainly keep him busy for the rest of the break, and if this was how Rob wanted to settle things, Ace would certainly not back down from the challenge.

At around one o'clock, there was a knock at his door. "Come in," he said gruffly, quickly covering the blueprint he had been designing with one of a new style gauntlet instead, and setting it aside.

The door slowly opened and Mira walked in, looking uncomfortable. "Er...shouldn't you get some sleep?" Ace just shook his head. After a moment, she sighed and sat on the edge of his bed next to him.

"What are you doing in here that's so important?" She inquired after another uncomfortable minute passed.

"Just designing the new gauntlets." Came his simple reply. Like he would tell her that he was plotting to humiliate and ultimately crush her _boyfriend._ The word still bothered him, but he hid it well.

"Oh. Well, I'm sure it can wait till morning." She placed her hand lightly over his as she pried the pen from his fingers. Ace sighed and nodded, more tired than he'd thought.

Mira sighed again and reached up, pulling his head down towards her, she kissed the top of his head like a worried mother and stood again.

He watched with surprise on his expression as she muttered a 'good night' and walked out. After a few minutes, he snapped out of it and flicked his bedroom light off, deciding that even though this was _obviously _just a dream, he'd better get to sleep.

**Hmm...I think I'll end here. :D**

**The war has only just begun, don't worry. Things are about to get dirty. :) I wasn't too happy about the length of this, it's a tad shorter than I pictured it, but I had to cut off a small portion and put that in the next chapter instead, or I wouldn't be able to stop for a while.**

**Rob: I HATE this story. First that twerp beats me up, then my trap doesn't even work? WTH? I just can't win!**

**Me: Shut up, Rob, nobody loves you. :D**

**Alice: What she means is that you'll have your moment soon.**

**Me: No, no, I'm pretty sure that's NOT what I meant.**

**Ace: *smirks**

**Dan: And I still don't have a pairing!**

**Me: Fine, I'll write something about you and Runo later.**

**Dan: ...actually, I prefer Mira-**

**Runo: WHAAAT? *chases Dan**

**Me: Hehe. Review pleeeeaaaase! I think this may wind up longer than I intended originally o.0**


	3. A Long Night

**Hello again!  
>Here's chapter two of All's Fair In Love and War. There will be some ShunxAlice in the beginning of this, kind of as a space-filler, and to get my mind working again. I tend to go into blocks when I take too much time off of writing. Which is stupid because I already have the outline for this made out, all I need to do is put it into words. XD<strong>

**Thanks to the two people that reviewed. :D**

**Julie: Do I get to say the disclaimer? *in excitement**

**Me: *in disgust ..No.**

**Shun: *sticks out tongue  
>ShunandAce does not own Bakugan! If she did, Alice and Runo wouldn't be ABANDONED and Klaus would have died back in season one.<strong>

**Alice's PoV**

**8:35 PM**

Business at the cafe was just slowing down for the day. In fact, only a few people remained. I was waitressing on my own; Julie had taken a day off to be with Billy, whom she hadn't seen in a long time, and Runo was busy washing dishes. I didn't mind, it was almost closing time, anyway. Two teenage boys winked at me and whistled as I passed, but I ignored them as usual.

I waited until the last of the customers had disappeared before sitting down in one of the booths with a light sigh. My thoughts travelled to my friends, the rest of the Brawlers...finally back from New Vestroia, if only briefly. I leaned forward and crossed my arms on the table, resting my chin on them. They seemed glad to be back..most of them, anyway. Shun and Acsio seemed rather down, but that was understandable, I supposed - it had to be wierd, being on Earth again when you know that you don't belong.

It scared me a little, to be honest. Shun had been my best friend from the getgo. It had been bad enough for him to leave me for so long - though of course I don't blame him - but seeing him so depressed to be back on Earth, made me think that he wanted to stay on Vestroia. The very thought chilled me to the bone. I sighed and closed my eyes, only to snap them open again as the sound of the bell on the door ringing alerted me that someone had entered. "I'm sorry, we're closed for the n-" I started as I looked up at the new arrival, but stopped when I realized who it was. A smile spread across my lips unknowingly, and I stood up to greet the raven-haired boy in the doorway. "Shun," I breathed. "you're..here." I wasn't sure why this shocked me so. Maybe it was because I hadn't even had the chance to properly greet my best friend since he'd been here. Every time I had come close, something would come up. He gave a faint, tired smile, and I could feel that it was forced for my sake, but at that moment, I didn't really care.

"Yeah." Was his typical, one-syllable response.

...

...

...

A long, akward moment passed. I knew that Shun wasn't one for physical contact, and so I kept my distance, despite the intense longing to hug him that kept nagging me. Eventually, he gave a small sigh and walked up to me. For a fraction of a second, I thought maybe he _was _going to hug me, but instead I felt a strange wave of disappointment as he took a seat in the booth I had vacated, opposite from my previous spot. I paused a moment before I slowly sat back down, regaining my composure once more.

He was busying himself staring at the lines in the wood of the table top, though what exactly was _so_ interesting about them evaded me. I took the opportunity to gaze at his handsome face and think. He had that same blank, stoic expression as always. I had yet to earn a _real _smile from Shun, in all the years I'd known him. He was so cold, so distant. But then, if he weren't, he wouldn't be Shun, and I loved him just the way he was. And I mean that in a strictly _friendly _way. It would be pointless to even consider us as more, when he seemed to hardly deem me worthy of friendship. With this thought, I sighed heavily, without realizing it, but he noticed immediately and looked up at me with those stunning honey-brown orbs.

"What's wrong?"

_Oh my. Two syllables. He must really be worried._ I thought, and no, I wasn't even being sarcastic. Sad, isn't it?

"Nothing. Just thinking."

...

He fell silent again for a moment. "About?"

Great. How was I supposed to answer that? Without thinking, I responded with the first word that came to mind. "You," Well, that _was _true, but I realized how that could be taken the wrong way, so I quickly added "being gone." I regretted it, though, when a look of guilt flickered across his expression for an instant.

"Sorry."

"It's not your fault. I was just really worried...and now you're going back." I frowned a little. "I'm being selfish...they need you more than I do."

...

Silence. His eyes stayed locked onto mine, staring into me with an unfathomable expression. His lips parted for a moment as though about to say something, but he closed them again. I broke his gaze and looked down, suddenly finding the wood patterns in the table very interesting indeed.

Suddenly, with a blur of black and green, I felt something warm next to me, pushing me to the side a little. It took me a moment to realize that Shun, in one of his blindingly-fast motions, had moved from the seat opposite me to right next to me in the booth. I gasped a little and looked up at him in shock. He was just sitting there now, averting his eyes, obviously not at all used to being comforting. But it was good enough for me; I smiled up at him weakly, feeling the tears threatening to fall. I pushed them back, scolding myself internally.

And then Shun did something he'd never done before. Slowly, hesitantly, he slipped his left arm around my shoulders, and paused. I was shocked, to say the least, but I didn't object, and when he saw this, he gave my shoulders a gentle sqeeze and forced one of his fake smiles in an attempt to cheer me up. "I'll come back." He promised softly.

I looked up at him, surprised, and quite suddenly threw my arms around him, burying my face in the crook of his neck and moving so I was almost completely sitting on his lap. I felt him tense, then slowly relax, obviously not used to the contact but accepting it for my sake. I let just a few tears fall, not wanting to break down in front of him. We stayed like that for a while, until I heard the bell ring once more, signalling that someone had entered the cafe. I grudgingly released my hold on Shun and turned to see Dan and Baron standing there, both looking amused and smug. I didn't move completely from Shun's lap, but I did take my arms away, and I knew I must have been blushing a lot.

"Get. OUT." Shun growled. The two immediately ran into the kitchen where Runo must have still been cleaning. I sighed, more contentedly this time, and slid back off of Shun's lap. We slowly stood, and walked out of the cafe, I standing a good distance from him as usual.

**-11:00 PM, no one's PoV**

Rob walked swiftly towards the little apartment he had rented for the summer. From the outside it looked nice enough, plain white exterior, four windows, freshly mowed lawn. Only he knew that it was actually a pigsty inside the apartment. Well, what could he say? He'd never been a neat person; in fact, in some ways he was a bit of a hoarder. But it was comfortable for him, he didn't mind the dirt. He yawned and stomped through the dewey grass, only to stop in his tracks and yelp as he felt a spray of cold water shower him. At first he thought of rain, but then realized that it was coming from the side.

He turned, shielding his face with his arms, and scowled as he saw that his sprinklers had gone off. And not just the one, /all/ of them had started, and now he was being completely drenched from all directions by freezing water. Shivering, he ran as fast as he could towards the house, only to slip on the wet grass and fall face-first into mud.

Shaking and wiping dirt from his face as best he could, he manuevered his way around in the dark more carefully this time, and finally made it to his doorstep. He searched his pockets for his key card, and was alarmed when he found that it was not there. His eyes widened and he moaned as he realized where it must be, and he sulked back over to the mud he had fallen in as the sprinklers continued to drench him.

By the time he found it, he was much more muddy, and in a very foul mood.

He trudged back up to the steps, unlocked the door and wandered in, searching for the light switch. When he found it, he looked down and realized just how dirty he was. "Oh, great! This will never come out of the carpet!" He groaned and entered the bathroom quickly, slipping on the tile floor, he shut the door behind him and started the shower. All the water was freezing, which was odd because his apartment usually got pretty hot water.

Outside, Ace stepped out of the shadows beneath a pine tree, smirking. "Don't worry, Rob," he muttered, "the fun has only just begun." He slipped the wire cutters and wrench back into the inside pocket of his jacket and took out a screwdriver instead. "I'll teach you to mess with me." He jogged up to the steps, having already disabled the sprinklers, and looked at the lock on the door. It was a pretty simple lock, opened by the correct key card. _Not for long._ He used the screwdriver to remove the plate covering the electrical components inside, and with a snip of two wires and the flip of one little switch, he had reset it. He carefully placed the cover back on and walked around the building, eventually getting to the back door, which had the same design lock, and waited there, ready.

Rob stepped out of the bathroom, clean but shivering, with a towel wrapped around his waist. He headed for his bedroom and opened the closet, only to find that all of his clothes were missing. All right, now he wasn't exactly a clean person, no, but there was _**no way **_he'd lost _**all **_of his clothes. Something wierd was going on here. Grumbling, he turned and searched the room for anything else to wear. Thankfully, he discovered a bath robe underneath a particularly large pile of God Know's What. It was pink with hearts on it - don't ask why he owned it in the first place - but it would do, because he had seen this prank done before, and knew that his clothes would probably just be out in the dumpster by the side of his house.

He pulled it around himself and slipped his key card in the pocket before heading out and closing the door behind him. He looked in the dumpster, and sure enough, there were all of his clothes, drenched in...something. He scowled and kicked the side of the dumpster, resulting in a stubbed toe. He sighed and decided he could sleep in the robe for tonight, and he would wash the clothes tomorrow. He limped back towards the door of his apartment and slid the key card, but it wouldn't open. He tried it again, and again, and again, with the same result.

Ace heard the bang of the dumpster being kicked and smirked to himself, he let himself in the back door quietly and walked around the house, locking all the windows and making sure the burgular alarm was set before sneaking back out and resetting the door the same way he had done the front. Then he set back to Dan's house, leaving Rob to enjoy his night out.

**(A/N: My dad once pulled a very similar prank to this when he was twelve or so, except the guy was bare naked and it was broad daylight, and the middle of winter with a foot of snow on the ground XD, then he made the poor guy run from one side of the house to the other, saying 'come to the back door and we'll let you in', et cetera. Isn't that awesomely cruel?)**

Rob finally decided to try the back door. Of course, that didn't work, either, so he attempted to open the windows, but they were all locked. By now, he was really, really cold, as he was still wet from the shower, angry, he had a stubbed toe, was in a very embarassing and girly bath robe, and it appeared he was locked out for the night. So, in his frustration, he kicked a window in, unaware of the set burgular alarm, which sent loud sirens all around the area. He groaned and cursed loudly, and decided it was probably not a good idea to go in at this point. A few minutes later, he could see red and blue flashing lights and hear police sirens, and a light was flashed in his face.

"Keep your hands where I can see them!" The cops were trying not to snicker at his appearance, and it was obvious.

He sighed and snapped at them. "Can't you see I'm having a bad night?"

Well, to shorten this up, they arrested him, he resisted, and he was tazered. He woke up a few hours later in some kind of cell.

And then it hit him what had happened.

"I'll get you for this, Ace Grit. You're going to pay."

But let's not get ahead of ourselves. Back to after Ace returned to Dan's house...

Ace sneakily pushed open the door and crept in, and felt for a light switch on the wall. Just to his luck, he found a switch all right, to the garbage disposal. As the loud machine whirred, he panicked, and quickly snapped it off, but too late. The light came on, and Mira appeared in the doorway, arms crossed and looking at him like a scolding mother.

"Snap!" Ace's face flushed a bit.

"Where _**were**_ you? I - _**we**_ thought you were hurt or something." She looked him over suspiciously.

"I...uh..." He stammered, slipping out of his muddy boots quickly.

"Oh, forget it. Just come in before everyone else wakes up." She walked up, grabbed his wrist and dragged him into his bedroom, closing the door quietly behind them before turning to him with fiery eyes, that showed a hint of worry. "Do you have any idea how worried I - we were? You haven't been around all day. You could have called!"

Ace ducked his head guiltily. "Sorry." He mumbled almost inaudibly; 'sorry' was definitely not his favorite word.

Mira sighed heavily. "Don't let it happen again." She walked up to him and kissed the top of his head in that motherly way again before turning for the door. "Go to sleep. I mean it, we have to get up early tomorrow." And she walked out.

Ace stood there in shock. "Girls are so confusing." He muttered before flicking off the light and slipping into bed.

**Haha. I know it was short, but I didn't want to overdo it and spoil everything. xD**

**So, did you like it? Was it funny enough? I'm a little worried, writing humor is not my strong point. Pleasepleaseplease review, and tell me what you think, or I'll just cry. ;~; AND YOU DON'T WANT THAT, DO YOU?**

**Rob: Crybaby.**

**Me: Listen here, hotshot, I ain't the one in a pink heart robe, okay? Oh, and by the way. *high fives Ace You rock man! :D**

**Ace: You wrote it.**

**Me: Yeah but you rock anyway.**

**Rob: I'm sensing a conspiracy here.**

**Me: Whaaaat? Nonono...of course not.  
><strong>**Really though, the ending to this may surprise some of you. Or maybe it won't. Idk. XD  
>Just so you know, I edit this myself as best I can, but I do not have a beta reader currently, and that's why it may take a while to upload even shorter chapters like this, I have to double-check everything. I'm insanely picky sometimes XD<strong>


	4. Jealousy is a Wicked Thing

**Hey, here's chapter three of All's Fair In Love and War.**

**clovergirl100: I'm glad you liked it! Yeah, Mira is pretty OOC in this story. The reason she went so hard on him, was she thought he might have been out with Narcissa. Jealousy makes people do strange things. :D**

**star bright-708: Yes, Ace is very mean. That's why I love him. XD And thanks, I like writing ShunxAlice so I tend to throw at least a little bit of that pairing into my stories.**

**Rob: I had BETTER win in SOME way this time.**

**Me: Hm...maybe...**

**Acsio: Not. ShunandAce doesn't own Bakugan, but she does own Narcissa, Rob, Kyle and...me. Hmph. D:**

**-Next day, 12:30 pm, Misaki Cafe**

The brawlers were hanging out inside the cafe, where there was air conditioning and shade from the blazing sun outside. Narcissa and Kyle had tagged along, too. Kyle was currently seated in a booth, engaged in a game of chess with Dan, who was surprisingly good at it. It was shocking to everyone how long this game was lasting when it was obvious that Kyle had never played it in his life.

"Dan, what's this piece called?" The black-haired boy prodded one of Dan's pieces with his index finger. Dan sighed.  
>"That's a knight, Kyle."<br>"And this one?"  
>"Bishop."<br>"That's a funny name."  
>"Will you just move?" Dan finally said, growing irritated.<br>"Oh, right." Kyle moved his piece without pausing to think at all, but somehow managed to take out Dan's knight. He grinned madly when Dan groaned and threw his hands up.  
>Narcissa watched from her seat across from Ace, her chin resting on her hand and leaning forward on the table. Ace was kicked back in his chair, muddy boots on the table. Runo had complained on more than one occasion about having to wipe the tables <em>again,<em> but shut up immediately when the mint-green haired boy threw her a dirty look. Narcissa giggled a little at this.

No one noticed the door open as Rob entered, overheated in black sweats; the only clothes that hadn't been ruined when Ace had drenched them in...whatever it was. He didn't want to know, honestly. He had thought about a plan to get back at Ace, but he just didn't know how to top Ace's prank. It would be hard. _Maybe I should try making _Narcissa_ jealous instead of targeting Ace...but how?_

The disgruntled teen trudged up to the counter and plopped down next to Mira. She looked up a little at him and wrinkled her nose. "No offense, but you smell like dead fish."

"Just because you say 'no offense' doesn't mean I'm not offended." He replied cooly. "And you can thank your little boyfriend for that."

"..what?" He had her full attention now. She turned on the bar stool to face Rob, trying to ignore the fishy aroma eminating from him.

"That little twerp, Ace. He locked me outside and ruined my clothes."

"He's not my boyfriend." Mira said immediately, then paused. "..why would he do that?"

"He's trying to steal Narcissa from me. ..And I think he's succeeding." Rob admitted. "Tell me, what _do _you see in _him?_"

Mira looked away to hide her blush. "I, uh, I don't know...he's smart, and cute, and...he's been my best friend for as long as I can remember." She sighed.

"Sounds like you've got it bad."

"...yeah..."

"Maybe we can help eachother out." He said after a moment of silence. She looked up with interest. "Pretend to be going out, I mean. We could make them jealous that way."

Mira hesitated. "I don't know..."

"Come on, what have you got to lose?"

"My dignity?" She teased, smirking a little. He gave her a 'don't-toy-with-me-today' look. "Fine, I guess. When do we...erm...start?" She asked awkwardly.

He bit his lip and glanced across the cafe at Ace and Narcissa sitting together. "Now?" He made his best flirtatious smile.

"Why not?" She leaned a little closer towards him, doing her best not to make a face at the smell. She winked and put on a brilliant, flirty grin, just as a certain green-haired Vestal glanced in their direction.

Ace felt his stomach tighten when he saw Rob and Mira together. Mira was looking at Rob with pure admiration...maybe she _did _like him. His fists clenched when they leaned in. From his perspective, it looked as though Mira had kissed him. Ace turned his head away, unable to watch any more. He was visibly tense.

Narcissa glanced up at him, breaking the uncomfortable silence at their table. "What's up?" Her voice was small and soft. He nodded his head stiffly in the direction of the apparent couple at the counter. She looked over, and what she saw amused her slightly.  
>Mira and Rob were getting pretty flirty and close, and it was obvious. It didn't bother her. Narcissa knew that Rob was head over heels in love with her, and so she very rarely felt threatened by other women. She also knew that no matter what she did, how cold she was, he wouldn't break up with her, not for anything.<br>Maybe it was wrong to take advantage of Rob's emotions, but she didn't really care...  
>It was clear that Ace was bothered, though, and she tore her eyes away to look back at the boy sitting across from her. "You like her, do you?" Her voice was teasing, but with a seriousness behind it.<p>

Ace looked up at her and shrugged, unsmiling.

"Don't worry; she likes you, too."

His expression brightened for a fraction of a second, then dropped again. "No, she doesn't. She likes that big numbskull."

"Maybe a_ little_, but she likes you more. I think she might be using him to make you jealous."

"How do you know?" He looked doubtful.

"Hell-o. I'm a _girl._ We know these things." Narcissa said knowingly, leaning back in her chair.

Ace didn't believe her, but he played along, biting his lip. "So what do I do?"

"You fight fire with fire. Get yourself a girlfriend."

"...but I don't want a girlfriend.."

She rolled her eyes and sighed dramatically. "I thought you were supposed to be a _genius _or something. To make her jealous, smart one."

Ace paused, considering. "So, let's say it works and she's jealous. What then? I can't have two girlfriends."

"Kick the other one to the curb." She suggested simply with a wave of her hand.

"Sounds cruel."

"And your point is?"

"When should I start?"

She smirked. "Now.? I can be of assistance if you need..." She stole another glance at Rob and Mira. He nodded after following her gaze. "Alright."

"Follow my lead, then. And try not to look like you're completely new at this." Narcissa rolled her eyes and leaned forward. Ace did the same. She giggled cutely as though he had told a funny joke and reached across the table to take his hand. Ace relaxed his body as much as possible and smiled a little, something he very, very rarely did. Might as well ham it up a little, right?

Narcissa played with his fingers absentmindedly, not minding the contact at all, even if it _was_ only pretend and temporary. She did like Rob, but she had to admit that Ace wasa real heart-throb when he smiled.  
><em>It's only pretend. Keep your head in the game. <em>She internally scolded herself. Then, remembering her goal, she glanced sideways at her boyfriend and Mira, smirking just a bit when she found that Mira was gazing at Ace with despair in her eyes. Narcissa looked back at Ace and muttered softly, "She's buying it, and she doesn't look happy. I told you."

Ace rolled his eyes and leaned a little closer. Narcissa felt her heart skip a beat, then immediately felt angry at herself for it. She stared at him, lost for words.

"Mira?" Rob tapped said red-head's shoulder. "You're supposed to be _my _date, remember?" He teased. Mira nodded and plastered a grin back on her face, tearing her eyes away from the heartbreaking scene before her. "Sorry."

"You okay?" He did his best to ignore his girlfriend openly flirting with his rival. Mira nodded and grabbed his hand, feeling a new determination. "Let's go, please?"

"But I only just got he-" he stopped at the look on her face, "oh, okay. Where do you want to go?" He stood, pulling her up with him.

Mira shrugged. "A movie, maybe? I heard Insidious is out; it's supposed to be really scary. And" - she gave a little nod towards Ace and Narcissa, who were whispering quietly - "Ace bought tickets this morning. He'll probably bring her."

Rob, realizing what she meant, nodded. "We'll go see that, then." And they left, attempting to look like they were enjoying eachother's company.

Ace looked at his watch, which read '1:30 pm'. "Er, I'm seeing a movie in half an hour. I have an extra ticket, want to come?" He looked up at Narcissa. "I was going to ask Mira, but..." He frowned a little.

Narcissa smirked at him. "Sure. What movie is it?"

"Insidious. It's a horror film."

"Sounds good. Should we leave now?" He nodded, and they stood and left, Narcissa hanging onto his arm with one hand.

**-2:00 pm, theatre parking lot**

Ace and Narcissa walked up to the large tan building before them. They stood a respectable distance from one another, seeing as Mira wasn't anywhere near. Or, so they thought.

As they reached the sidewalk, Narcissa noticed, through the small crowd of people, another familiar couple walking through the doors. She elbowed Ace lightly in the ribs. "Your girlfriend's here, with Rob." He looked around in disbelief, and sure enough, his grey eyes landed on the red-head and her date heading towards the front desk. He immediately grabbed Narcissa's hand, and she hid her blush as they increased their speed slightly.

Rob handed over the money for his ticket, and Mira bought hers. They weren't really dating, so what was the point in Rob paying her way? Mira glanced over her shoulder and spotted Ace and Narcissa approaching the ticket stand. She slipped her hand in Rob's, and they left the lobby, entering the theatre to find a seat.

Ace led Narcissa to the theatre entrance and handed over the tickets he had bought to the usher, who let them in. Narcissa pointed out a seat two rows in front of Mira and Rob. "Over there, and they'll see us." Ace nodded after a small pause, and they took their seats just as the light dimmed.

The movie was, indeed, very frightening, but Rob was more focused on watching his girlfriend than the screen. He knew that she liked horror films, and she had never shown a trace of fear when she had gone with him. But she was obviously intent on getting into Ace's lap, because twice she hid her face in his shoulder, and the second time, she didn't move for several minutes. This angered Rob, but he forced himself to not jump up and ring that boy's throat right there in the middle of the movie.

Mira winced a little, but she didn't attempt to grab Rob's hand or anything; there would be no point, because Ace wasn't paying the slightest bit of attention to them. She felt jealousy and pain when Ace casually put his arm over Narcissa's shoulders.

Both Rob and Mira were grateful when it ended and the lights came back on. They stood and exited as quickly as possible.

Ace and Narcissa almost instantly seperated and stood. They left swiftly, barely exchanging a word on the way back. Ace walked Narcissa to the door of her apartment and started to leave, but then, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Rob and Mira walking up the steps to Dan's house. Mira glanced at him and he took the oppurtunity, kissing Narcissa's cheek quickly before turning and almost running back toward's Dan's house, worried about how Narcissa would react.

Said girl blushed furiously and stumbled inside, dizzy from that tiny little peck.

It was all Mira could do not to burst into tears right there. She waved goodbye to Rob and turned for the door. Ace caught up to her then, and opened it first, letting her in. She walked in slowly, silent and anxious to get away. He followed, closing the door behind him. "What's wrong?" He noticed her glum expression. He knew the idea was to make her jealous, but not so...depressed. He figured something else must be really upsetting her.

"Nothing." Her tone was strangely cold. She tried to get past him to the hallway, but he stepped in front of her and grabbed her wrist, preventing her. "Really, what is it?"

She sighed and looked up at him. "Please, just leave me alone for a bit, okay? I don't feel well." Well, it wasn't a complete lie. She certainly felt horrible after watching that.

He hesitated, but nodded after noting the look on her face. "Maybe you should lay down for a while." He suggested. She nodded slowly and walked past him, into her room, to do just that. Lay down and think. After a little while, she fell asleep.

-**two hours later**

Mira awoke with a start, breathing heavily. She turned her head to the door, where the knock that had awoken her sounded from. "C-come in." She stuttered, sitting up against the pillows.

Ace pushed the door open and walked in, looking down a bit as though embarassed. "I just wanted to see...if you were alright. You've been in here a while, and Dan's mother made dinner..." She nodded. "I'm feeling better, I just fell asleep. Sorry."

Ace bit his lip, thinking, and walked over to her. He sat on the edge of Mira's bed next to her. "You sure? I can bring your dinner in here, or you can always wait if you're feeling ill." His tone was full of concern.

"I'm fine, really."

Ace reached over and placed a hand on her forehead to feel her temperature before nodding. "All right, then.." He stood once more, and Mira followed suit. She was a little wobbly after laying down for so long, but he caught her carefully. She looked down to hide her blush. "Thanks." She slowly moved away again, regaining her balance, and walked out into the hall to join the others.

**Hm...Imma end here.  
>It feels too short, but I can't really do anything else or it'll be TOO long and I don't want to take forever to update this...<br>So not much happened this chapter, sorry if it was boring :(  
>It's just kind of something I had to put in, you know.<br>I won't be able to write any more until probably Monday, because it was my birthday Thursday and from tonight (Friday) until then I'll have friends over...and then it will probably take a few days to finish editing, et cetera. Hope it doesn't inconvenience anyone. That's why I was in such a hurry to finish writing this, so I may have made a few mistakes D:  
>Please feel free to point them out so I can repair them when I get back on. :)<br>Laters!**


	5. Sorry!

**So...I've been grounded. -.-**

**I sneaked onto the computer to upload this quickly so noone thinks I've died or something XD**

**I'm really, really sorry, but all my writing is on hold as of now. I'll be back by mid-July, most likely, as after I'm un-grounded I'm going on vacation... I have the chapter written out but I only have a few seconds on the computer. **

**Ace: You're a horrible person. :(**

**Me: Ikr. u.u**

**Julie: *hugs**


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